All qualifying events for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup and the 50-overs version in 2023 that were scheduled to be held before June 30 have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.
The pandemic has brought global sport to a standstill and the ICC said in a statement that the World Cup qualifiers would also be affected.
“In light of the significant global health concerns at the current time and the restrictions on movement imposed by governments across the world, the ICC has taken the decision to postpone all events up until the end of June, subject to further review,” ICC head of events Chris Tetley said.
“Work will continue on contingency plans and options for both men’s qualification pathways,” he said.
“We will provide updates in due course on these plans and decisions on the staging of the remaining events this year,” he added.
India are to host next year’s T20 World Cup, as well as the 50-overs event in 2023.
As many as eight events would now be postponed due to the ICC decision.
This year’s Women’s T20 World Cup was held last month and this month in Australia, which are to host the men’s version starting in October.
The World Cup trophy tour for the men’s event, which was scheduled to start next month, was also postponed.
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